


Sole Spark

by The_Epitome_of_Pretense



Series: The Sole Saga [14]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Kissing, Mutual Pining, Robot/Human Relationships, Romantic Fluff, hand-holding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-08
Updated: 2019-02-08
Packaged: 2019-10-24 14:19:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17705879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Epitome_of_Pretense/pseuds/The_Epitome_of_Pretense
Summary: Sole can't believe that Nick actually kissed her. Where do they go from here?





	Sole Spark

When Sole opened her eyes, she found herself in her usual room at the Hotel Rexford. Something had changed, but she could not remember what. 

She rolled onto her side and stretched. The musty smell of the mattress always made her cough, but today it didn’t bother her as much. For once she was glad to be waking up in the Commonwealth. She rubbed her eyes and tried to figure out why she was in such a good mood.

She got up and put on the remnants of her Vaultsuit—which, thanks to a Deathclaw, was little more than a pair of pants that she wore with a tank top and jacket. She glanced around the room. From the long rays of sunlight that glowed with a scattering of dust motes, she judged it to still be early morning. Then she saw the dress laying across the foot of her bed. The garish, purple, sequined dress. 

It all came flooding back. The dress—the night out—the music—the dancing—the fact that Nick had—

She raised a hand to her lips. 

Could she be remembering that right? Could it be true that he had kissed her? Actually kissed her? Not out of pity, not by request, but because of the plain and simple fact that he wanted to?

She muttered a curse.

It seemed too good to be true. She had to be sure. She gathered her things and rushed downstairs. 

Nick was nowhere to be found in the lobby. She checked the pavilion outside the Third Rail, but with no success. Worry began to gnaw at her thoughts. She continued all the way through town to find him leaning against the wall by the front gate. 

He stood with his arms crossed, watching the smoke from his cigarette catch the morning sun. The sight made Sole’s heart skip a beat. A pang of fear twisted her stomach. What if it all had been her imagination? She had already made a fool of herself enough times in front of him; acting on the wrong assumption would spell the end of what little dignity she had left. She approached him carefully, intent on not letting him see how nervous she felt.

“‘Morning,” she said.

His yellow eyes flicked down to her. 

“There you are. Ready to get going?” he said. 

Sole watched him for any indication of a change. He still carried himself with that same confident ease; either he was a good actor, or she had just dreamed up the whole ordeal in a fit of wishful thinking. 

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” she said, and stepped outside. 

The breeze blew cold through the ruins of Boston, but the sunlight felt warm on her hair. She had forgotten to brush it. She combed it with her fingers as they walked, hoping the action didn’t look silly. 

She wanted to say something. Anything would do, but every thought came up blank.

Nick broke the accumulating silence.

“So. Did you—” he paused, “did you sleep well?”

“Like the dead,” she said with a laugh. Even in her ears it sounded forced. 

He nodded, but kept his eyes on the path ahead of them. Another silence, more awkward than the first, began to grow. A new thought disturbed her: what if last night had been real, but now he had changed his mind? He might be planning to send her packing the minute they got back to Diamond City. She shook her head at the idea; Nick wouldn’t do that. Even if he did change his mind about being together romantically, he would never toss her aside. Not after everything. 

She wanted to ask him. Everything in her ached to know what they were to each other—if they were anything more than partners. She took a deep breath.

“I had a funny dream, though,” she said. 

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I dreamed that we went out to the Third Rail.”

“Sounds like a good dream. What else happened?”

“You asked me to dance,” she continued.

He gave her a meaningful look. 

“Is that all?” he said. 

She slowed her pace to a stop.

“No,” she said. “No, it isn’t.”

“Well, you can’t leave the story there. How did it end?”

She took another deep breath and forced herself to look him in the eye, then immediately wished she hadn’t. Every bit of her nerve vanished. She looked away.

“I forgot,” she said. 

He stepped closer. 

“Hmm. Is there anything I can do to help jog your memory?”

“You’re guess is as good as mine.”

“Just close your eyes a minute. Might come back to you.”

She did so. Then she felt a gentle touch on her arm—cold metal, chilled by the morning frost. He kissed her cheek. 

“Does that ring a bell?” he said, his voice unsure. 

Her heart raced. A moment passed before she could collect her thoughts. 

“Almost,” she said. “It was a little different in the dream.”

His arm wound about her waist, pulling her close. She let her hands come to rest on his shoulders. He lifted her chin and pressed his lips to hers. 

“Is that more like it?” he said softly. 

She struggled to find her voice. 

“Hard to say. The memory’s still a little fuzzy,” she managed.

He leaned in again, his lips gentle, searching, as if asking a question. She longed to answer—but not yet. She wanted him to keep asking. She tried to think of something to say that would keep him close, but words failed her. All but one. 

“Again,” she whispered. 

He obeyed. 

“And again…”

He did so.

“And…”

Before she could finish, he gave her a kiss that stole the breath from her lungs. She ran her hands up the back of his neck, pressing him closer. He wrapped both of his arms tighter around her waist. Her feet only just touched the ground. 

He drew away. 

“Remember yet?” he said.

She nodded, eyes still closed. 

“I do now,” she said.

She hesitated, then rested her head on his shoulder. She breathed deep the smell of smoke and cologne. 

“I suppose we should get going,” he said, nestling his cheek against her brow. 

“Probably should.”

Neither one moved. A full minute passed. Sole chuckled. 

“You’re being pretty clingy today. Do you like me or something?” she said.

“Now, what gave you that idea?”

“Just a hunch. So…” she paused. “Where do we go from here?”

“Diamond City. Eventually. Though I think I’d like to stay here for another minute or two.”

“No, I mean—are we together now, or?”

He let out a soft laugh.

“We’ve been together for a while, haven’t we?” he said.

“Only in my dreams.”

“I guess you’ll be dreaming with your eyes wide open from now on.”

“That sounds just fine to me.”

She ran her thumbs just behind his ears, savoring the smooth texture of his skin. She could hear his inner workings humming and whirring with a rhythm that was not quite a heartbeat. After a moment, he spoke.

“Although, maybe we should keep it on the down-low for the time being,” he said. “I’m—well, I’m not sure how folks will take to the idea. Especially in Diamond City.”

“Is sweeping me off my feet in front of everyone what you call keeping it on the down-low?”

“Alright, so I got a little caught up in the moment. But you know what they say about news from Goodneighbor. And if someone does decide to make trouble—”

“—We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” she finished for him.

“Right. Although, if you don’t want to get tangled up in that kind of mess, I’ll understand.”

Now Sole laughed in earnest. 

“What’s so funny?” Nick said. 

“You are. You act like I haven’t been dying to get together all this time.”

“I just don’t want you to feel like I’m dragging you into this.”

“Of all my worries, that is definitely the least. Sorry Nick, you’re stuck with me.”

She could feel the corner of his mouth tug up into a smile. 

“Damn, what a shame,” he said.

“I’m not sorry.”

He ran his hand up the curve of her spine, letting his fingers trace the ridge of vertebrae on the back of her neck. He let out a grumbling breath. 

“But I guess we really should get going, huh?” he said. “I’d hate to be caught out here unawares.”

Sole sighed. He was right; nothing good came from lingering anywhere too long.

“I don’t want to go into hiding just yet,” she said. “What’s our rush, anyway? Let’s go somewhere. Maybe check up on everyone in Sanctuary or something. Just somewhere that we won’t have to be on guard as much.”

“Yeah? I could use a vacation. And there’s always someone needing help up north.”

“Exactly.”

After a moment of struggle, she let go of him. He took her hand and directed their steps northward. 

Sole watched the sun rise higher over the ruins of Boston. Now she could not feel the cold at all. She leaned in closer as they walked; he gave her one more peck on the cheek. She couldn’t stifle her grin, so she didn’t try. So much had changed. 

She wouldn’t have it any other way. 

**Author's Note:**

> There's a not-so-sneaky reference to "With My Eyes Wide Open" by the Inkspots ;]


End file.
